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March 12 is World Glaucoma Day

Don't leave your vision to chance!

Toronto, March 12, 2009

Don't leave your vision to chance!

Dr. Neeru Gupta, Director of Glaucoma Unit at St. Michael’s Hospital and
National Coordinator for World Glaucoma Day, says “More than 50 percent
of people with glaucoma are unaware they have it, and 50 percent remain
untreated until there has been a large amount of irreversible vision loss.”

Worldwide, an estimated 6.7 million people are blind from glaucoma, and
approximately 70 million people are living with the condition. It is important
to proactively protect your vision by learning the risk factors and discussing
them with an eye health professional.

The primary risk factors for glaucoma include:

increasing age

high eye pressure

family history

African or Chinese ancestry

nearsightedness

high blood pressure

For all individuals, especially those with any of these risk factors, the
World Glaucoma Association recommends getting a regular, complete
eye exam that includes eye pressure tests, optic nerve assessment
and visual field testing.